Fan fastening structure

ABSTRACT

The present invention proposes a fan fastening structure for securing a fan having at least a connector and a cable having at least a connection port. The fan fastening structure includes a framework and at least a securing rack, wherein the framework is formed with a first side, a second side opposing to the first side, a third side connected to the first side and the second side, and a fourth side opposing to the third side for storing the fan, and the securing rack is secured to the fourth side for securing the cable so as to fasten the fan to the fan fastening structure and overcome the defects such as taking spaces inside the framework, resulted from forming a circuit board within the framework of the conventional structure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to fan fastening structures, and moreparticularly, to a fan fastening structure that is applied to a server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, a mega Computer Blade Server System may contain more thansixteen Blade Servers, wherein each blade server may be designed to be1U (1.75 inches) or 2U (3.5 inches) in height.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional blade server. As shown inFIG. 1, the blade server is formed with a receiving end 11, a fanfastening structure 13 deposited at the receiving end 11 and a pluralityof fans 15 deposited within the fan fastening structure 13, wherein thefan fastening structure 13 is formed with a framework 131 and a base 133which is employed to support and carry the framework 131. FIG. 2 is aperspective view of a conventional fan fastening structure showing thatthe base 133 is formed with a plurality of fasteners 13 and a pluralityof first coupling portions 1333, and the framework 131 is formed with aplurality of boards 1311 and a plurality of second coupling portions1313, wherein the board 1311 is employed for isolating a plurality offans (not shown) and forming a passage and the second coupling portion1313 is used for coupling to the first coupling portion 1333. FIG. 3 isa perspective view of a conventional fan fastening structure forfastening a fan 15. As shown in FIG. 3, a circuit board 2 with aplurality of openings corresponding to a plurality of fasteners 1331 isformed on the base 133 first, and the circuit board 2 is fastened to thebase 133 by coupling a plurality of screws to a plurality of holes (notshown). The framework 131 is then deposited at the base 133 making thefirst coupling portions 1333 of the base 133 corresponding to the secondcoupling portion 1313 of the framework 131, so that the first couplingportions 1333 could be coupled to the second coupling portion 1313 viathe use of a plurality of screws for coupling the framework 131 to thebase 133. Furthermore, the circuit board 2 fastened to the base 133comprises a plurality of connection ports 21. A plurality of connectionports 21 are employed to electrically connect to as well as fasten aplurality of fans 15, wherein each fan 15 is formed with a connector 151that is coupled to the connection port 21 of the circuit board 2.

While assembling the fan 15 into the fan fastening structure 13, asshown in FIG. 3, the connector 151 of the fan 15 must face toward theconnection port 21 of the circuit board 2 first, and then the fan 15 ismoved in the direction of arrow A so as to couple the connector 151 tothe connection port 21. However, as the passages formed in the fanfastening structure 13 by the boards 1311 are very narrow and the heightof the framework 131 is much higher than the height of the fan 13, it isnot easy to align the connector 151 with the connection port 21.Unfortunately, arrangement as such is expected to have a severe impacton the assembling process of fastening the fan 15, making the task ofplacing the fan 15 into the right position extremely difficult to beachieved. This thereby makes the assembling process difficult andunlikely to be implemented.

While disassembling the fan 15 from the fan fastening structure 13, thebonding force generated from the mutually coupled connector 151 andconnection port 21 makes the fan 15 difficult to be removed from the fanfastening structure 13, as there is no enough room for a person to applyforce for unplugging.

In addition, as the framework 131 of the fan fastening structure 13formed with the circuit board 2 and the connection port coupled to thecircuit board 2 have occupied a portion of the height and space of theframework 131, the framework 131 could only receive the size-limited fan15. If a larger fan is stored, that larger fan would expose from theframework 131, and consequently, making the framework 131 storing withthe larger fan unable to be put into the blade server 1.

Moreover, as aforementioned, in the conventional fan fastening structure13, the circuit board 2 is required for electrically connecting the fan15 to the external power supply in order to actuate the fan 15 and thebase 133 is required for securing the circuit board, thereby leading toa higher cost of production for fabricating a fan fastening structure assuch.

Therefore, the problems to be solved here is to provide a new techniquethat is capable of reducing the cost of production, avoiding thetiresome processes during assembling and disassembling, and storing alarger fan, so as to eliminate the drawbacks in the prior art, asaforementioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the above prior-art drawbacks, a primary objective of thepresent invention is to provide a space-saving fan fastening structure.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a fan fasteningstructure, which can reduce the cost of production significantly.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a fanfastening structure, which can be assembled and disassembled fast andeasily.

In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the presentinvention proposes a fan fastening structure for securing a fan havingat least a connector and a cable having at least a connection port,comprising: a framework and at least a securing rack. The framework isformed with a first side, a second side opposing to the first side, athird side connected to the first side and the second side, and a fourthside opposing to the third side for storing the fan, the securing rackis secured to the fourth side for securing the cable, and the connectoris coupled to the connection port so as to fasten the fan to the fanfastening structure.

The foregoing first side is formed with a plurality of openings thateach opening is corresponding to another and the foregoing second sideis formed with a plurality of holes that each hole is corresponding toanother. The third side is formed with a protruded portion and thefourth side is formed with a corresponding protruded portion.Preferably, the protruded portions may comprise a plurality of protrudedplates. However, the fourth side may comprise not only a protrudedportion but also a first coupling portion, wherein the protruded portionmay comprise a plurality of protruded plates and the first couplingportion may, preferably, comprise a plurality of bulges. Each bulge maybe formed with a head and a relatively smaller body. The securing rackis formed with a plurality of cavities, a second coupling portion and ahook-like portion. Preferably, the second coupling portion may comprisea plurality of gap-like domains, wherein each gap-like domain is formedwith a passage, a first opening that may be connected to the passage,and a second opening that may be connected to the first opening.Further, the second opening may be smaller than the first opening, andthe hook-like portion may be a L-shape hook or a U-shape hook.

Compared with the conventional fastening technique, the presentinvention provides a fan fastening structure having a securing rackfastened to a fourth side of a framework for securing a connection portof a cable so as to increase the storage space of the framework, as wellas overcoming the defects caused by the conventional technique such asforming a circuit board within the framework where the height of thecircuit board and the connection port formed thereon would take up thefree spaces and make the available spaces of the framework smaller.However, as aforementioned, with the arrangement and the structure ofthe present invention, a lot of spaces could be saved.

Furthermore, the fan fastening structure of the present invention iscapable of making the fan easier to be actuated by simply coupling theconnector of the fan to the connection port of the cable and connectingthe other end of the cable to a power supply, and overcoming theproblems of high production cost caused by implementing the conventionaltechnique such as forming a circuit board in the framework forelectrically connecting to the fan and forming a base for supporting andcarrying the framework. As the present invention does not need to formwith a circuit board and a base to carry the framework, the presentinvention could thereby reduce the production cost significantly.

In addition, as proposed in the present invention, through anarrangement such as securing the connection port of the securing rack ofthe fan fastening structure to the fourth side of the framework allowsthe connector located on the fan to be coupled to the connection portlocated on the securing rack easily and quickly, and thereby overcomesthe defects of having problems of connecting the connector formed on thefan to be coupled to the connection port formed on the circuit boardbecause of poor or improper alignment, resulted from forming the circuitboard at the bottom of the framework in the conventional structure.

Accordingly, by providing the space-saving fan fastening structure thatis easy to assemble and disassemble and capable of lowering the cost ofproduction significantly, the fan fastening structure of the presentinvention has overcome the defects existing in the prior art, and has ahigh utility value in the industry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments, withreference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional blade server;

FIG. 2 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional fan fasteningstructure;

FIG. 3 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional fan fasteningstructure for fastening a fan;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a fan fastening structure with a cableconnected thereto, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4B is a magnified drawing of a portion of a framework of a fanfastening structure, as shown in FIG. 4A, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a securing rack of the fan fasteningstructure, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fan for being fastened by the fanfastening structure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7A is an exploded view of assembling a fan with a fan fasteningstructure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a fan assembled with a fan fasteningstructure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of a securing structure for a fan proposed in thepresent invention are described in detail as follows with reference toFIGS. 4A-4B, FIGS. 5-6 and FIGS. 7A-7B.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fan fastening structure 3 with a cable5 connected thereto, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 4B is a magnified drawing of a portion of aframework 31 of the fan fastening structure 3, as shown in FIG. 4A, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5is a perspective view of a securing rack 33 of the fan fasteningstructure 3, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fan 4 for being fastened bythe fan fastening structure 3 in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, the fan fasteningstructure 3 is employed for fastening the fan 4 with at least aconnector 41 (as shown in FIG. 6) and the cable 5 with at least aconnection port 51, wherein the fan fastening structure 3 comprises aframework 31 and at least a securing rack 33.

As shown in FIGS. 4A to 6, the framework 31 formed with a first side311, a second side 313 opposing to the first side 311, a third side 315connected to the first side 311 and the second side 313, and a fourthside 317 opposing to the third side 315 is employed for storing the fan4 (as shown in FIG. 6). The first side 311 is formed with a plurality ofopenings 3111 that each opening is corresponding to another and thesecond side 313 is formed with a plurality of holes 3131 that each holeis corresponding to another. The third side 315 is formed with aprotruded portion 3151 and the fourth side 317 is formed with acorresponding protruded portion 3171, wherein the protruded portions3151 and 3171 respectively comprise two protruded plates. The fourthside 317 comprises not only a set of protrusions 3171 but also a firstcoupling portion 3173, wherein the first coupling portion 3173 furthercomprises two bulges. Each bulge 3174 is formed with a head 3173 a and arelatively smaller body 3173 b. It is to be noted that the firstcoupling portion 3173 may be formed, but not limited to, at the thirdside 315 of the framework 31 as well as the fourth side 317.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 4A, the securing rack 33 is secured to thefourth side 317 for securing the cable 5. The securing rack 33 is formedwith two cavities, a second coupling portion 333 and a hook-like portion335. Each cavity 331 is employed for securing each connection port 51 ofthe cable 5. The second coupling portion 333 comprises two gap-likedomains, wherein each gap-like domain 334 is formed with a passage 3331,a first opening 3333 connected to the passage 3331, and a second openingconnected to the first opening 3333. The second opening 3335 is smallerthan the first opening 3333. The hook-like portion 335 may be a L-shapehook or a U-shape hook. By employing the framework 31 and the securingrack 33, when the connector 41 of the fan 4 is coupled to the connectionport 51 of the cable, the fan 4 is thus fastened in the fan fasteningstructure 3. Since the fan fastening structure 3 comprises only theframework 31 and the securing rack 33 that is secured to the fourth side317 of the framework 31, the cost of production would be therefore muchlower than a well-known fastening structure in the prior art. Moreover,it is to be noted that the securing rack 33 may be formed, but notlimited to, at the second side 313 of the framework 31 as well as thefourth side 317.

As shown in FIG. 6, a perspective view of a fan 4 for being fastened bythe fan fastening structure 3 in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention, the fan 4 is coupled to the connector 41 ofthe fan 4 via a plastic member 43, wherein the connector 41 faceddownward is employed for coupling to the connection port 51 of thesecuring rack 33.

When the securing rack 33 is to be fastened to the framework 31, asshown in FIG. 4 and also referred to FIGS. 4B and 5, the second couplingportion 333 of the securing rack 33 is aligned above the first couplingportion 3173 of the framework 31, and then the body part 3173 b of thebulge 3174 of the first coupling portion 3173 of the framework 31 isplaced in the first opening 3333 of the second coupling portion 333through the passage 3331 of the second coupling portion 333. Meanwhile,the securing rack 33 is moved in the direction of arrow B so as to placethe body part 3173 b of the bulge 3174 in the second opening 3335 of thesecond coupling portion 333, in order to fasten the securing rack 333 tothe framework 31. As the securing rack 33 is secured at the outersurface of the framework 31, with arrangement as such, the securing rack33 does not have to occupy any space within the framework 31.

When the fan 4 is to be fastened to the framework 31, as shown in FIG.7A, the fan would be placed into a first compartment 31 a of theframework 31 that is formed with the first side 311 and the protrusions3151 and 3171 of the third side 315 and fourth side 317, or into asecond compartment 31 b of the framework 31 that is formed with thesecond side 313 and the protrusions 3151 and 3171 of the third side 315and fourth side 317. At the moment, the connector 41 of the fan 4 shouldbe corresponded to the connection port 51 of the cable 5 secured to thesecuring rack 33, and then the fan 4 is moved in the direction of arrowC. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the fan 4 fastened to the framework 31 isto be removed, the fan 4 would be moved in the direction of arrow D soas to depart the connector 41 from the connection port 51 for theremoval of the fan 4. As the connection port 51 of the securing rack 33is fastened to the fourth side 317 of the framework 31, arrangement assuch allows the connector 41 located on the fan 4 to be coupled to theconnection port 51 of the securing rack 33 easily, thereby makingassembly and disassembly fast and effortless.

As aforementioned, the design of the securing rack 33 in the presentinvention allows the securing rack 33 to be placed at the outer surfaceof the framework 31, and thereby saves the spaces of the framework 31,so that it is capable of storing a larger fan. Further, as thestructures of the framework 31 and the securing rack 33 are simple andthe framework 31 does not have to form with any circuit board, the costof production could therefore be reduced significantly. Accordingly,with foregoing advantages and with benefits of easy assembly anddisassembly of the fan 4, it is proved that the present invention hasovercome the defects caused by the prior art and has a high utilityvalue in the industry.

The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments.However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is notlimited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended tocover various modifications and similar arrangement. The scope of theclaims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

1. A fan fastening structure for securing a fan with a connector and acable with a connection port, comprising: a framework formed with afirst side, a second side opposing to the first side, a third sideconnected to the first side and the second side, and a fourth sideopposing to the third side for storing the fan; and at least a securingrack secured to the fourth side for securing the cable, wherein theconnector is coupled to the connection port for fastening the fan to thefan fastening structure.
 2. The fan fastening structure of claim 1,wherein the first side is formed with a plurality of openings that eachopening is corresponding to another and the second side is formed with aplurality of holes that each hole is corresponding to another.
 3. Thefan fastening structure of claim 1, wherein the third side and thefourth side are formed with protruded portions that each protrudedportion is corresponding to another.
 4. The fan fastening structure ofclaim 3, wherein the protruded portions respectively comprise aplurality of protruded plates.
 5. The fan fastening structure of claim1, wherein the fourth side comprises a protruded portion and a firstcoupling portion.
 6. The fan fastening structure of claim 5, wherein theprotruded portion further comprises a plurality of protruded plates. 7.The fan fastening structure of claim 5, wherein the first couplingportion further comprises a plurality of bulges.
 8. The fan fasteningstructure of claim 7, wherein the bulge is formed with a head and arelatively smaller body.
 9. The fan fastening structure of claim 1,wherein the securing rack is formed with a plurality of cavities, asecond coupling portion and a hook-like portion.
 10. The fan fasteningstructure of claim 9, wherein the second coupling portion furthercomprises a plurality of gap-like domains.
 11. The fan fasteningstructure of claim 9, wherein the hook-like portion is at least one of aL-shape hook and a U-shape hook.
 12. The fan fastening structure ofclaim 10, wherein the gap-like domain is formed with a passage, a firstopening connected to the passage, and a second opening connected to thefirst opening.
 13. The fan fastening structure of claim 12, wherein thesecond opening is smaller than the first opening.